Reach
The Next Chapter • Sermon • Submitted
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· 7 viewsFollowers of Jesus are commanded to take the Gospel to all people, with love and grace.
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Parable of the fishing trip video
TRANSITION
TRANSITION
If everyone did their part, imagine the fish that could be caught.
“Follow me,” he told them, “and I will make you fish for people.”
If everyone did their part in the church, imagine the people who could come to know Jesus.
We talked about loving Jesus first, praying. We cannot stay here, sitting on our pews, hoping for lost people to come to us. We are called to reach the world.
Title of message- REACH
How do we do that? Where do we begin? We’re going to see how Jesus set an example for all of us, in a shocking encounter. He reaches out to an individual in a way that is totally unexpected.
EXPOSITION
EXPOSITION
This story paints a picture of how Jesus looks at evangelism, missions, racism, prejudice, worship, forgiveness, acceptance, and other key issues for our church and society.
Read John 4:1-6
1. Reach All Places.(vv. 1-6)
1. Reach All Places.(vv. 1-6)
EXP: “Jesus baptizing more” (People were being drawn to Jesus, John the Baptist was pointing people to him). “Had to travel through Samaria”- talk about travel routes by typical Jews and their long standing hatred of Samaritans.
Show map of Israel
ILL: Avoiding people in high school. Went the long way to class.
Why did Jesus have to travel through Samaria? Perhaps fast travel to get away from the Pharisees, but I believe there is something more. Jesus knew that he was about to meet someone who needed to find his love, grace, and forgiveness.
“Worn out from his journey” showed Jesus’ humanity. He can relate to us in many ways. But this also shows to Jesus, not only did he think it was important for the Gospel to be taken to an area that was looked down upon. He thought it was worth it to the point that it physically wore him out just getting there.
APP: So many of us are willing to serve Jesus or do something for him so long as it doesn’t inconvenience us or get us out of our comfort zones. But the minute we think about doing something that seems socially awkward, physically draining, or mentally exhausting we tap out.
Jesus understood something about His message that we must understand as a church.
For everyone else, this would have been something that would have been avoided. This woman would not have been worthy to talk to a Jewish Rabbi, let alone about spiritual matters. But Jesus knew something about his message that we must learn as a church.
We must… SAY POINT 1...with His message. And His message is the Gospel.
APP:
ILL:
Explain the Gospel.
APP: Many Christians think that the church building is where the Gospel is preached, and that is true. However, the Gospel must go forth from within these walls to the surrounding streets. It must be taken to homes. It must be taken to work places. It must be taken to this city. And it must be taken by you. Yes, the labor will have a price; but the reward will be priceless.
2. Reach All People. (vv. 7-30, 39-42)
2. Reach All People. (vv. 7-30, 39-42)
Read
EXP: “A woman of Samaria came to draw water.” Another level of awkward. Jesus was a Jew, a Rabbi, and a man. She was a Samaritan woman. The time of day this was would lend us to believe that she had a bad reputation. Came in the hottest part of the day, perhaps to avoid the other women?
For everyone else, this would have been something that would have been avoided. This woman would not have been worthy to talk to a Jewish Rabbi, let alone about spiritual matters.
Jesus knew that someone’s reputation didn’t matter when it came to his message. He is showing us that we must...
Say point 2. Read .
For everyone else, this would have been something that would have been avoided. This woman would not have been worthy to talk to a Jewish Rabbi, let alone about spiritual matters. But Jesus knew something about his message that we must learn as a church.
“Jesus simply asked her for a drink.” This shocked her that he would even talk to her. He used a simple sentence with intent on getting his message across.
So many of us think it’s very difficult to bring up spiritual things in day to day conversations. There are many opportunities all around us to share if we would just open our eyes. Example:
Instead of saying “It’s a beautiful day,” say “The Lord gave us a beautiful day today didn’t He?”
When someone tells you of a hard time they are going through, instead of simply saying “I hate to hear that,” you could say “I hate to hear that. I went through something similar years ago. Let me tell you how I got through it...” and share what God did for you.
Read .
Jesus knew her past sins. He didn’t say you need to go clean yourself up or clean up your reputation and come back to me. He loved her and showed compassion. He gave her information about himself before anyone else had it. This is the first time Jesus plainly stated that he is the Messiah.
We should look to Jesus’ example, to learn what we should do for others. Instead of putting ourselves in the place of the Holy Spirit and trying to convict people of their sin, we need to introduce them to Jesus and let the Spirit do His own work in their lives.
Look at this woman’s response...
Read John 4:27-30.
We have professionalized everything in Western culture. If we need medical attention, we go to a professional doctor. Legal counsel we go to a professional accountant or attorney. If we want to be taught something, we turn to professional teachers of the subject. If we want someone to be introduced to God, we feel we have to bring them to a professional Pastor.
ion, we go to a professional doctor. Legal counsel we go to a professional accountant or attorney. If we want to be taught something, we turn to professional teachers of the subject. If we want someone to be introduced to God, we feel we have to bring them to a professional Pastor.
Look at what happened when this woman found the Messiah, and went and told others (vv. 28-30, 39-42)
Read .
She didn’t have a special degree. She hadn’t been a follower of Jesus for years. She simply wanted to share what she had experienced.
We have professionalized everything in Western culture. If we need medical attention, we go to a professional doctor. Legal counsel we go to a professional accountant or attorney. If we want to be taught something, we turn to professional teachers of the subject. If we want someone to be introduced to God, we feel we have to bring them to a professional Pastor.
Look at what happened when this woman found the Messiah, and went and told others (vv. 28-30, 39-42)
Read .
ILL: Multiplication illustration using people from the congregation. 1 Pastor vs. multiple people.
APP: When the people of the church share the Gospel as they are commanded, the kingdom of God will grow.
If the people of the church aren’t sharing the Gospel with the lost, broken, and hurting, then the church isn’t fulfilling its mission.
3. Reach at All Times. (vv. 31-38)
3. Reach at All Times. (vv. 31-38)
Read .
Our temptation is to not share. For a few reasons:
1. We feel like it’s nothing to be in a hurry about and we get lazy about it. Jesus addresses that in v. 35.
Say point 3.
2. We aren’t excited about it anymore.
ILL: Getting engaged to Hillary, I wanted to tell everyone. Facebook status change, etc.
The minute I got saved I wanted to run and tell my friend. I wanted to let everyone know.
APP: You may have a similar story. This Samaritan woman was so excited about meeting Jesus! She couldn’t contain it. She left her water jar (v. 28)
What’s happened to us, that we would be so excited about sharing the good news the moment we are saved, and years later we find ourselves trembling at the thought of talking about Jesus with people in any way other than maybe inviting someone to church?
3. The more we learn about God, the more we feel like we don’t know, which leads us to wondering who we should talk to, what we would say, or being nervous about doing it.
Church, you have a message within you that has the potential to change the lives of those you love, just like it did yours.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.
You may say, it’s not that I’m ashamed. I don’t know who to talk to. I just feel unprepared. I just get nervous.
We must do our job to be prepared. Are you prepared to share the Gospel?
You serve the same God who gave words to Moses, courage to Joshua, and leading to Abraham. While God will lead you to people to talk to, give you words to say, and courage to say them, you must do your part in being prepared.
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
We must do our job to be prepared. Are you prepared to share the Gospel?
We must do our job to be prepared. Are you prepared to share the Gospel?
Evangelism
Beginning in the next few weeks, we will be providing you an opportunity to get prepared. Studies 5 sessions our goal is to give you the tools to feel confident and prepared to share your faith with someone in a natural way. Not a sales pitch.
Do you want to see people in the baptistry? Do you want to see our church grow? We cannot sit back and wait for people to come to us. We must go to them, prepared to share the Gospel. Do something bold for God. Step out of your comfort zones.
Pass out papers. Reach Out Cards
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION